Gyan Prakash Chopra (1920-2011) was an Indian educationist, credited with the establishment of several educational institutions in India. A recipient of the Padma Shri in 1999, he was honored again by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, in 2010, with the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

, the third highest civilian award, for his services to the field of education.

Biography

G. P. Chopra was born in 1920, in the pre-independence India. After graduating in English Literature, he joined Murray College,

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

, in the present day

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, as a lecturer. After the Indian independence and partition, he moved to New Delhi and joined Hans Raj College of

Delhi University The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

and taught at the college till his retirement from teaching service. Gyan Prakash Chopra was the President of DAV network of institutions, a 123-year-old non governmental organization focused on education. During his period, he was successful in establishing over several DAV educational institutions across the country, including the rural and tribal areas of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

and

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

DAV network

DAV network of institutions is an education-focused group, started in 1886, which runs over 700 educational institutions in various parts of the country, with a student strength of about one million. The group witnessed growth during Chopra's reign as the President of the Managing Committee. The first of the DAV schools was started in 1885, followed by the establishment of the DAV Trust and Management Society, a year later. The movement, founded by Dayanand Saraswati, at various points of time, involved many notable personalities such as Mahatma Hans Raj, Mehr Chand, Lala Balraj, Justice Mehar Chand Mahajan, Dr. G. L. Dutta, Lala Suraj Bhan, Prof Ved Vyas, Darbari Lal, T. R. Tuli, G. P. Chopra and Punam Suri.

Awards and recognitions

- 2010 *

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

- 1999 * Qimpro Platinum Standard - 2009 * Delhi Ratna — All India Conference of Intellectuals * Distinguished Fellow — Foundation for Unity of Religions and Enlightened Citizenship (FUREC)

External links

* New year Message - 2009 by G. P. Chopra on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

* Documentary on G. P. Chopra

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chopra, G. P. 1920 births 2011 deaths People from Sialkot Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education 20th-century Indian educational theorists Founders of Indian schools and colleges People from Punjab Province (British India)